Everybody has the light of Buddha within, but they don't look for it.

Compassion is the radicalism of our time.

Each breath is a new beginning, a fresh opportunity to awaken.

External phenomena are like a dream, whatever appears is not real. Recognize the nature of dream-like phenomena to be dream-like.

The practice of mindfulness begins in the small, remote cave of your unconscious mind and blossoms with the sunlight of your conscious life.

The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.

The object of meditation and the mind which knows it must be noted as they occur. If they are not noted, desire arises and disturbs concentration.

Sankharas are the seeds of consciousness that manifest as sensations. By observing sensations equanimously, we stop creating new sankharas.

True happiness comes from a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through cultivation of altruism, of love, of compassion.

The treasure house within you contains everything, and you are free to use it. You don't need to seek outside.

The more we witness our emotional reactions and understand how they work, the easier it is to refrain.

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows.

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

We need to learn to let our emotions pass through us like waves, without getting caught in their undertow.

Meditation is the road to happiness.

The practice of Zen is forgetting the self in the act of uniting with something.

The heart of one who practices is like the earth. No matter what they throw on it, the earth remains unchanged.

Through continuous mindfulness practice, the true nature of physical and mental phenomena becomes clear.

The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.

The practice of ethics is not about following rules but about developing inner purity and freedom.

The role of Zen is neither to stand above life nor to run away from it, but to face it with a spirit of determination.

Compassion is not something we develop. It arises naturally as we see the truth of what is.

All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddha.

Peace requires us to surrender our illusions of control.

Don't think that only sitting with the eyes closed is practice. If you do think this way, then quickly change your thinking.

The mind creates the abyss, and the heart crosses it.

The practice of vipassana is the study of the self. When you study physical and mental phenomena, you are studying the truth about yourself.

The purpose of meditation is to gain right understanding of the true nature of mental and physical phenomena.

The dharma is not outside of you. Looking for it elsewhere is like placing a Buddha on your head while searching for him everywhere else.

Your mind is like a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds.